July 2014 Trip Report – Disney’s Hollywood Studios Frozen Summer Fun

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been taken over by the movie Frozen. For a limited time, this summer special offerings are happening that incorporate our favorite Frozen characters. This limited engagement is only scheduled to run until Sept 1, 2014. Disney announced today that it would extend through Sept 28, 2014, with fireworks only on the weekends.

Here is some of the Frozen Fun:

Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome – 11:00 a.m. each day is what I would call a mini-parade where Anna and Elsa are welcomed to the theme park.

For the First Time in Forever: A “Frozen” Sing-Along Celebration – This is a must for all of us who know all the words to the songs by heart. This stage show in the Premiere Theater was delightful and funny. Our boys had a blast.

Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post & Frozen Funland – Want to go ice skating on your vacation? Do you want to build a snowman? Do you want to buy awesome Frozen merchandise? This is your stop. Find all of this in Soundstage One. Don’t forget to shop because there is a “Big Summer Blowout”.

Olaf on Summer Vacation – Pick up your Olaf paper cut-out and take pictures during the day. Post on social media with #OlafSummerVacation and you could see your pictures in the pre-fireworks show.

“Coolest Summer Ever” Dance Party – At the Sorcerer’s Hat in the evenings, there is a dance party with favorite Disney characters. We saw Donald, Daisy, and Minnie. We called this our children’s first mosh pit! They loved it.

“Frozen” Fireworks Spectacular – Combination Stage show and fireworks end a perfect day at the park. Disney never misses an opportunity to get more of your money, so they also offered a premium package that is priced at $59 per adult and $34 per child (you still need separate park admission). For the extra money, you receive reserved viewing to the mini-parade that included snacks (drinks and ice cream treats), reserved viewing for the sing-a-long, and a dessert party in reserved location for the fireworks.Now that you know what was offered, I can tell you more about what my family liked and didn’t like.

We attended and had the premium package on Sunday, July 27th. For the package, you check in across from Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner. We checked in around 10:15 and it was quick and easy. We got our credentials for the party and then went to the next line to get our time for the sing-a-long. We chose the 7pm sing-a-long since we knew we were coming back for the fireworks that evening. This all took less than 5 minutes.

We then went into a roped off area near the Sorcerer’s Hat stage. We could then get unlimited water, Coke products, Mickey bars, and frozen lemonade. The parade viewing was OK. Once Anna and Elsa pass they let everyone go up to get near the stage for the Welcoming ceremony. Since we were close to the stage in our reserved section, we were able to get a good view of the ceremony.

For the sing-a-long, we received a card that had our time to return to the Premiere Theater to see the show. It had a time of 6:30 – 6:50pm. We showed up at 6:30 thinking they would let us in the theater and we could wait for the show in an air-conditioned theater. We were wrong. We stood outside in the sun waiting to get into the theater. They didn’t let us in until the 6:50 mark. However, all was forgiven when we got our seats. 3rd-row center! I don’t think they could have been better.

For the dessert party and fireworks viewing we were again in the same roped off area near the Sorcerer’s Hat stage. We got a tip from www.themeparkprofessor.com to stand in the back of the section near the filming crew. Great advice! We had a good view of the stage and the fireworks. If we would have been closer to the stage you can’t see the fireworks. My only small complaint about the dessert party is the standing. There are no chairs. You are in this area starting at 8:30pm until the 9:45pm firework show. It’s A long time to be on your feet. We were lucky that this was our first day in the park so we were fresh. If this would have been later in our vacation, I don’t know that it would have been as enjoyable.

The desserts were Frozen themed and very tasty. Drinks were available for both the kids and the adults. There are plenty of water bottles and fruit punch. For the adults, there were 3 different alcohol offerings. During the time the dessert party is going on, there is also a band playing on the stage. It was great!

You will see many blog posts debating if paying for the premium package is worth it. Do you need to buy the premium package to have a great day? No. It is not needed. You can see and do everything without it. Why did we buy it? This was a celebration trip for my oldest son’s birthday and having my niece on the trip. I am glad we bought it. It was worth it for the dessert party. The food and reserved area for the fireworks were so nice. I am glad we added this to our Hollywood Studios day.

We received no special consideration from Disney or any other service provider. We paid for 100% of this vacation.

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Ryan Slusher

I am a dad of 2 boys, I love to travel, and I am a home based travel agent for Key to the World Travel®. I specialize in Disney and family destinations.

Kim Slusher

AKA Mrs. Travel Agent Dad. I share our families vacation experiences while Ryan is busy planning magical vacations for his clients. You can also listen to Disney news and trips reports at my podcast, DIStracted Life.